History of St. Nicholas - Rochester(6/00)

From a letter to Bishop John Elya and personal correspondence with Raymond Shaheen 

The community in Rochester named the local parish for St. Nicholas of Myra, 75 years ago. The parish has always been small in numbers, yet it has endured through the years, because of a strong devotion on the part of our members to lead a Christ-Centered life. 

The parish community of St. Nicholas, was the only parish in the Eparchy named for the Bishop of Myra in Lycea (Asia Minor). He was a participant in the Council of Nicea, and was a strong defender of Orthodoxy. Though details of his life have been obscured in time, he was by some accounts noted for his personal generosity as well as his theological fervor. At his death, miracles were attributed to his body which was buried in the cathedral church. During the 11th century, prior to the Ottoman conquest of the Constantinople, Italian Crusaders removed the body and took it by ship to Bari, an ecclesiastical city on the Adriatic Sea. According to legend, rough seas almost sunk the ship, which survived after the crew noticed the secretion of a fluid from his preserved corpse. Henceforth, he was regarded throughout Europe as patron of sailors, and of several maritime powers, like Holland and Russia. He is also highly regarded in Greece and Germany. In the Middle East, he is honored by both Antiochian Orthodox and Melkite Christians.

Our parish was formed 75 years ago, when immigrants from the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon, and Christian communities in Syria and Palestine sought a place to worship in the style that they knew in their youth. A series of immigrant priests served the community during the pre-war years, from a modest but beautiful church on Rochester's North Side. 

Father Paul Sanky was the first Melkite priest to visit the area, to offer divine liturgy and to perform the sacraments for the faithful. He encouraged the Lebanese, Syrians, and Palestinians in the area to begin efforts to form a local parish. On 1 April, 1925, The Syrian Catholic Melkite Rite Society was formed to achieve this objective. Bishop Thomas Hickey, second Bishop of Rochester, arranged for Father Ignatius Gebara to serve here beginning Christmas Eve, 1926. Father Gebara arrived with nothing; He offered liturgy in various homes, and lived with my grandparents. By 27 October, 1927 our modest church on the northside of Rochester was dedicated.

Many parishioners personally assisted in the building of the church including Ferris Hajjar. 

Our parish was served by selfless, and dedicated pastors, who focused on the immigrant community, but lacked the vision to address the needs of their American-born children. Our third pastor died in 1939, and due to the problems emerging from the rising tide of war, their was no one to replace him until 1946.

Following World War II, Archimandrite Andrew Hallek, BCO came to serve the community. During his 16 years here, he guided the parish toward traditions that were as relevent to the young second generation adults and their new families. During his pastorate, member families from this community of 50 households, produced 3 vocations of women religious, and one diocesan priest.

Bishop James Kearney, the beloved 4th Bishop of Rochester arranged for Archimandrite Andrew Hallek, BCO, to come here from Birmingham. Father Hallek immediately re-gathered the parishioners, paying particular attention to the young people and returning veterans and their families. He began addressing his Sunday homilies in both English and Arabic, and when our Synod of Bishops approved English as a liturgical language, he immediately implemented the change. 

He encouraged the formation of a choir led by Loraine (Hajjar) Smith, a men's club, and a ladies' society. he lived humbly, shared his life with his people, and was very popular. During his pastorate, this little parish's families produced three vocations of women religious, and the vocation of Father Jim Sarkis, an early graduate of St. Basil's.

The 1960's was a period of great change for our society, and our Church, and our Parish. We had 5 pastors during that decade, some were truly wonderful. Fr. Ray Shashaty, who fully embraced the mandates of Vatican II, was devoted to our Rite, but called upon the laity to fully participate in a Christian life. An outstanding choir was formed under the direction of Ken Sarkis, Father Jim's brother. From the choir, a committed youth group emerged. Again parish life was full, the liturgy was at its center; it was lively and relevant.

During the pastorate of Fr. Athanasios Hassey, many new families from the Middle East were welcomed. These families form the core of our current membership. Father Salem Faddoul arrived, with somewhat of a new agenda. He was focused on a strict moral code and was limited in his appreciation of the Middle Eastern psyche. He did, however, welcome many new parishioners, from the neighborhood and from western Catholic parishes, who were disaffected by some Vatican II reforms. Considerable compromises of our tradition occurred.

When Father Mark Melone arrived, we knew that things would be different. He made huge progress in developing the spiritual development and liturgical observances of the parish. Some of his ideas seemed too different for some, but Father Mark is a man of great pastoral skills. He embraced people of every station in life, living with them in the manor of Fr. Hallek. He convinced us that our long held dream of a new parish campus was attainable. He began the process, where we envisioned what we wanted.

On our patronal feast day, in 1985, the parish welcomed Father Mark Melone as our 10th pastor and began a bit of a spiritual and liturgical revival. We adopted more authentic Byzantine observances, and developed a greater sense of community. We also began to dream of moving to a new location where we could grow further. An 8 acre site in the town of Gates was purchased and dedicated to future parish use. Developmental priorities and conceptual designs for a new church were drawn.

In late 1991, our current pastor, Father Ken Sherman arrived and immediately began to focus the laity on carrying out our ambitious plan. We sold our original church and rectory in 1995 and built a new parish house and chapel on the site. Sunday divine liturgy was offered at a nearby Latin Roman Catholic parish. Efforts were launched to build a building that was dignified and suited to our parish needs. With God's help we built a house for the Lord that surpassed our wildest dreams. Bishop John and Bishop Nicholas presided over the dedication of the second church on 21 May in the 2000th Year of Our Lord.

Father Ken is a devoted servant of the Eparchy. He is a practical thinker, and he encouraged us to plan a strategy to make our vision a reality. John Sarkis, our Building Committee Chair has been selflessly generous with his time. He really, deserves the credit for not only Bingo's success, but also the completion of the church.

The effort in Rochester is a classic example of the medieval cathedral mentality. Yes, we are faith driven. Yes, we succeeded in our vision despite considerable odds against us. We did it through determination, hard work and sacrifice by many. It is a reflection of our pride as a community, and we thank God that He has allowed us to glorify Him!

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